Kiina, Master of the Grudge
by Lielac
Summary: After they're caught by Metus and get locked up in Roxtus, Kiina and Berix talk about how much Kiina hates and mistrusts him... or maybe that she thinks she's failed as a big sister, since her little brother's a thief. A collector. Whatever. He doesn't ask first.


**Disclaimer:** This work of fiction is a transformative work based on _Bionicle_, which is owned by Lego. I make no profit from the creation or distribution of this work, and have no plans to do so at any time. The words of this story are, however, definitely mine.

**Contains:** Headcanon, headcanon, and more headcanon. Basically, if you're pretty sure I made it up, I probably did. Also contains family being messed up, fallible, and the best way to make the most long-lasting grudges. Oh, and the story's written in third person present tense.

**Notes:** There I was, re-watching my DVD of _Bionicle: The Legend Reborn_ for the '_n_'th time, swooning whenever Worf - er, Mata Nui - talked, and generally having a grand ol' time. Then I saw Kiina and Berix interact, especially that hug near the end and Berix saying "I think I liked it better when you hated me," and this time I thought, "Hang on, these two- these two are _totally brother and sister._"

So I filed that thought away and rewatched the movie, until I came back to the scene where Kiina and Berix are in that cage in Roxtus arguing and I thought, "This is totally the tail end of a longer argument." An idea began to form, and this is the story that blossomed forth. I hope you enjoy it!

('NOTHER NOTE: I crosspost everything that's posted here to Archive Of Our Own [AO3]. Everything there is under the same username I use here. A [slightly mangled] link to my AO3 page should be on my profile.)

* * *

Slamming her hand against a bar of the cage hurts but it's satisfying, and it's easier to focus on the shuddering pain that goes up her arm and the stinging in her palm instead of the fact that she's, oh right, a good few dozen feet off the ground and stuck in a cage. With _Berix_ of all people, just to top off this absolutely wonderful day. "Come back here, you _SCUM!_" she shouts down at the Skrall just leaving after escorting her and Berix to their cage, but the _things_ don't even flinch. "Come back here and let me throttle your slimy little _necks!_"

It's hard to tell with how the moonlight falls, but she's pretty sure Berix is smirking, his arms crossed and eyes mocking. "Ready to believe I'm not the traitor, Kiina?"

"Oh, shut up." She slumps against the wall and winces at how her movement makes the whole cage sway. "I _said_ I hoped I was wrong."

"Still thought it was me," he says with a dismissive wave. "Still let one little thing overshadow everything you've ever actually _known_ about me."

She can see the pain in his eyes, she knows how much this whole drawn-out grudgefest of hers actually hurts him, and if she were a better person she'd shut her mouth or if they weren't locked in a cage with nothing but air beneath them she'd turn around and leave, but neither of those things are true so they're both trapped in more ways than one. She tries to shove down the voice wailing that he's her (_haven't said it in a hundred thousand years won't start now_) and fires back. "Now see, I thought this was about the whole _thinking you're the traitor_ thing, not _knowing for a fact you're a damn thief_."

"One changes how you think about the other," he says, casual in his _I'm this close to throwing a spanner at your head_ way, all nonchalant hand waves and furious eyes. "I'm a thief, therefore I'm not trustworthy, therefore no one trusts me, therefore I'm an outcast, _therefore_ I've got all the reason I need to sell everyone out to the Skrall."

"You _are_ a thief," she reminds him.

"Co_llect_or," he corrects, and it's such an old thing between them by now that she almost laughs, almost thinks everything's how it was before that first time she caught him with his hands in someone else's junk pile. Before the Shattering destroyed more than just their home.

"I'd never betray the Agori, though," Berix adds. "You'd kill me soon as you found out, for one thing."

"I'm going to kill Metus _anyway_, and he's not you," she growls. "Is the threat of my hands around your neck the _only_ reason?"

Berix looks insulted. "Of _course_ not. Everyone else would too. Oh, and I wouldn't betray people I-" He stops. "Care about," he finishes lamely, looking away from her.

"Like who?" Kiina asks, leaning forward, knowing the challenge in her voice implies the answer is _no one_, knowing that's not true, and not giving a damn because suddenly she wants him to admit what she won't. "Who do you _care about_?"

He steps back, eyes locked to hers, mouth open but he's silent, and the silence stretches until he snaps. "You _know_ who, Kiina. Unlike _some_ people I could mention, _I_ don't stop _loving someone_ just because we had an _argument_."

He couldn't have hurt her more if he'd stabbed her in the gut. She stares at him, speechless, mouth open like a beached fish gasping for water, head full of uncomprehending nonsensical squiggles because he _did_ not, _could_ not have just told her _to her face_ that _she didn't love him_. "You- I- that's- I don't- I don't _not_- it wasn't just a- _you take that back!_"

Berix just looks up at her, silent and small and none of that matters because he's got her heart in his hands and his refusal to answer is squeezing it until she's sure she'll die.

Finally, finally, _finally_, he opens his mouth again. "Why?" he asks, an innocent child except for the vindictive light in his eyes.

Kiina balls her hands up so tight she strains the joints on her gauntlets. "Because you're a filthy little _liar!_

"I _do_ still care about you!"

"That's not what I _meant_, you little _rat_, I meant implying that _I don't,_ because _I still __do!_"

"You've got a really funny way of showing it, then!" he shouts back, and this is the worst possible place to have this blow-up but clearly neither of them care.

"I haven't throttled you in your sleep yet, have I? I don't know what else I should do but make sure your pathetic little butt is still around, and you _are_, so what else do you _want!_"

"I dunno, maybe try _trusting me_, that'd be a good _start!_"

Kiina throws her hands in the air in frustration. "You're a thief!"

"I'm a collector!"

"Of other people's property, without their permission!"

"They leave it around without labeling it, how the hell am I supposed to be able to tell!"

"Well _maybe_ that task would be _simpler_ if you _just didn't steal stuff!_"

"I'm not _stealing!_"

"I'm sorry I ever got you out of that storm, you miserable little maggot!"

Berix stumbles back against the wall of the cage, eyes widening as he stares at her. "You don't mean that," he says faintly, but there's a question in his voice and fear in his eyes.

"Maybe I do." All she cares about now is saying the worst thing she can think of, and there's a little voice in her head wailing that this is _wrong_ but she ignores it. "Maybe I am sorry I didn't let you die out there. Maybe I do regret taking care of you. Maybe I wish I'd never had to deal with you leaving your latest project all over the house, maybe I wish I'd never had to structure my life around what you needed, _maybe_ I wish I hadn't decided to be your _big sister_ because you _ruined my life_."

Berix clenches his eyes shut like he's in pain and folds to the floor. "Maybe."

The little voice grows to a roar, like blood pounding in her ears but with words. _You idiot, you idiot, now he really _does_ hate you, nice _going _numb__skull-_ "Berix-"

"Save it," he grunts, turning away. "You've made your point."

She stares at the back of his helmet for a long moment with words tumbling over each other in her head in a bloody free-for-all of stupid, then steps back until her back hits the opposite wall, sits down with her knees up to her chest, and buries her head in her folded arms.

She must have managed to doze off for a while, because she wakes up with backache from sleeping awkwardly in her armor and the light in the cage is different. Berix is asleep across from her, looking small even for an Agori, curled around his helmet like he's a little kid again and it's the first toy she got him. "Dammit, Berix," she mutters. "You did that on purpose, didn't you."

Carefully, slowly, as quietly as she can, she moves across the small cage until she sits next to Berix. "I didn't mean it," she says. "I was angry, ok? You hit _my_ buttons first anyway with that dumb line saying I didn't care about you anymore. But... for what it's worth, if you still give a single dusty damn about me... I'm sorry."

Berix's breathing hitches; Kiina freezes, watching him for any sign that he's woken up, but he only makes a tiny noise she remembers hearing a long time ago when she still sometimes watched him dream and continues his even breaths. She smirks and watches him for a few moments more. "If you're awake and faking, I am going to pummel you when I find out."

Either he's actually asleep or doesn't think she'd follow through on her threat, but Berix makes no movements to suggest he's waking up. Kiina examines his face for a while longer. "You were an obnoxiously cute kid, you know. Punch me if you want later, but you're still obnoxiously cute. Mostly just obnoxious, but I'll never quite be able to think of you without thinking of every adorable thing you did when you were little. Littler. Tiny, let's go with that, probably my best chance of making you want to punch me really _hard_."

She glances out of the cage at the sky paling toward dawn, looks down to the maze pattern in front of the entrance to Roxtus and the vicious spikes of rock that surround it. "Where did I go wrong with you, Berix? What could I have done differently? Why are you a thief? What exactly lead to the two of us hating each other and locked in a cage as prisoners of the Skrall? _Is_ there anything I could have done, or are you just irredeemable?"

Kiina sighs. "I feel like a horrible sister for not knowing how I could have taught you better. I have for more than a hundred thousand years. I don't hate you, Berix, I don't think raising you ruined my life, and I don't not love you. It's just a _lot_ easier to say you're a thief than admit I'm sorry."

Berix makes a grumbly noise and shifts. "I think I should make up for lost time," Kiina continues, "even if I'm being the worst kind of coward by not telling you this while you're awake. I'm sorry for not always being there for you. I'm sorry for judging you when you tried to be friends with Telluris, and I'm sorry for gloating when he went crazy. I'm sorry for throwing you out that first time after the Shattering. I'm sorry for every single argument we've ever had over pointless, stupid things just because I was looking for a reason to needle you. I'm sorry for keeping this pathetic thing going for a hundred thousand years. I'm sorry for wanting to run away from this forsaken ball of rock, because it might be miserable but it's got my favorite little brother on it. I'm sorry."

"He'd probably take me too if you asked," Berix says softly, and Kiina jumps a good six inches when she realizes he'd opened his eyes and she'd missed it. "Can't think why you'd want someone irredeemable like me with you, though."

Kiina glares at him and punches him in the shoulder. "You are _not-_"

"Well," Berix interrupts, sitting up with a little wince, "either I'm irredeemable or you're a terrible person. Since you're _not_ terrible, well, clearly I have to be." He smirks, then punches her. "And I've never been tiny, you giant."

Kiina growls. "You _faker-_"

Berix ignores her while putting his helmet back on, then grins. "Going to pummel me?"

"You _are_ terrible, aren't you." She can't stay really mad at him when he's grinning like that, though, so she just socks him in the shoulder she hit already and grins when he winces. "I did mean it, you know. All of it."

"Even the terrible names you called me?"

Kiina glares at him again. "The _apology_. Sincerity, you might have heard of it?"

"Hmmm, maybe. Was it around before the Shattering?"

"_Berix-!_"

He laughs and holds up his hands in surrender. "I kid, I kid. So, big sis, how painfully are you going to kill Metus once we get out of here?"

Kiina looks out at the sky again and glances at the east where a sliver of the sun peeks over the horizon. "Very painfully. Want to help, little brother?"

"I dunno, do you trust me enough?"

"Shut up, Berix, don't be stupid. Of course I do."

* * *

**Notes:** It'll still be a little while before Mata Nui comes to rescue them - in the movie, that scene's clearly set well after the sun's risen - so this story doesn't negate the scene that inspired it in the first place. Just because Kiina's finally apologized for being a stubborn jerk and Berix's accepted it doesn't mean they don't still have issues to work out, after all. A hundred thousand year old grudge takes a little more to dissolve than being locked up with the person you hate... though as I hope this story has believably shown, not being able to avoid that person might result in feelings being admitted and tensions being resolved, especially if, as in Kiina's case, it's less 'hate' and more 'trying to pretend hate when really you love the obnoxious little brat but hate what he did'.


End file.
